


Color me Marked

by staristired



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: Angst, Breakup, M/M, One Shot, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Tarty at the starty, bitter kippen parents, soulmate au from tumblr gmfu, tyrus is endgame basically
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-10-01 05:15:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17238080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/staristired/pseuds/staristired
Summary: Every person has a black mark on them that bursts with color when their soulmate touches it for the first time. Although Marty and TJ aren't soulmates according to their soul marks, they still try to defy the universe's law by seeing each other. But of course, the universe is never wrong.





	Color me Marked

The thing about TJ is that he only cared about one person, and it was Marty. He didn’t care what people said about him for being an asshole. He didn’t care that people said he wasn’t good enough to play college basketball. He didn’t care that people constantly reminded him that Marty wasn’t his soulmate.

It was hard living knowing that the black soul mark on his shoulder would never light up with vibrant colors because of Marty even if Marty made TJ’s stomach feel like it was being paraded by every crayon in a 106 box. The kisses Marty planted on it, mumbling prayers in between, never changed the fact that he wasn’t his soulmate.

It was the first thing his parents asked him when he said he had a boyfriend. They knew they couldn’t help it if someone’s soulmate was the same gender as them, that’s how things had been from the start of time. What did matter was if the person you were dating was your soulmate. Everyone’s always came, sooner or later. You just had to wait and be patient.

“So, you’re just going to date him?” he dad scowled, his face crinkling up in a million places.

TJ rolled his eyes, “That’s literally what I’m trying to tell you guys. I have a boyfriend, and his name is Marty. I want you guys to meet him next week, but if you’re going be acti-“

“TJ,” his mom sighed. She had been staying silent on the couch, her arms crossed as she listened to TJ and his dad go back and forth. His little brother who had held hands with the other little girl next door when they were four before seeing the light show and realizing he had been Found was listening intently. TJ glared at Malachi from the corner of his eye, not knowing if he should be envious of him or relived for him.

“Mom, please,” TJ said, going up to her.

“TJ, just listen to me,” she reached out her hands to hold his, “you’re both going to get hurt the day you have to leave each other.”

“We won’t,” TJ said, biting down on his lip, looking away from her eyes.

“That’s what you say right now, TJ. That’s what you’re saying because you’re both in the moment. But when you see the colors on your mark, and you know you have been Found, you will know what you have to do.”

“I wouldn’t go with them,” TJ stubbornly said. “I’d stay with Marty.”

“That’d be selfish of you for staying with someone who isn’t going to marry you instead of using that time to get to know who you’re spending the rest of your life with,” his dad added from the background. TJ held tightly onto his mother’s hands, growing even more frustrated.

“Marty and I didn’t just decide to date on a whim. We know there’s going to be trouble, but we’re going to work through it. It’s been months since we started talking. I don’t care anymore, and I hope you guys can understand that.”

“We understand, sweetheart,” his mom told him softly, her eyes brimming with tears. “Just please understand, that the longer this goes on, the more it’s going to hurt. The universe is never wrong.”

-

Marty’s soul mark was on his shin, but he always wore jeans or joggers to hide it. There was no need of that reminder when they were together. It was the same reason why TJ always wore hoodies unless he was going to do exercise.

Marty always joked with TJ that if he kicked him hard enough the colors would come, but TJ could never even think about hurting him. He already made him fall in love with him, and that was going to do the worst of damage if the time to separate ever came. As much as he loved being with Marty, in the back of his head, the lingering thought they weren’t meant to grow old together always stuck. Kissing him and holding his hand felt right, so why did the universe say it was wrong? Why wouldn’t the mark on his shoulders burst with colors as often as he burst into angry tears whenever he watched Marty fall asleep next to him.

“All we have to do is never find our soulmates, and we can stay with each other,” Marty joked as they laid on a patch of grass, TJ running his fingers through Marty’s hair as he laid his head down on his lap. They liked laying in the shade after competitive basketball matches. TJ always won and left Marty exhausted without trying.

“I’ll always stay with you, no matter what,” TJ told him like he had been saying for two years. No sign of each other’s soulmates. “Would you leave me for your soulmate?”

“I would never,” Marty smiled before TJ bent down to give him a kiss on the forehead. They didn’t talk about it too often, but when people found out that they weren’t soulmates, they were always given that look that reminded them they were basically self-destructing. Someone at the gym had asked them about it, and TJ really wanted to punch them in the nose for reminding him.

He didn’t think about that fact too often. There were a lot of people that refused to go with their soulmates because they had fallen in love with someone else. Those people always ended up alone or unhappy from what he had seen and read. He did a lot of research on it before him and Marty decided to make this official.

He decided Marty was worth the ache.

-

When his discussion was over, TJ walked out of his classroom, rushing to get to the exit. Marty was waiting outside, and they were going to go to the gym together. It was a last minute thing, and he felt awkward because he was wearing a muscle tee. Their soul marks didn’t bother them, but it was nice to not have to think about.

As he walked down the hall, he remembered he had needed to use the restroom. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to wait until the gym to go, but he had a weird feeling it’d be for the best if he went in that building.

Before he could open the men’s room door, someone that seemed to be a head shorter than him was walking out, and in the spur of the moment, he bumped into his shoulder.

“Sorry! I didn’t see y-” the shorter guy’s eyes widened as they landed on TJ’s shoulder- the shoulder where his soul mark was. TJ’s heart dropped because he knew what was going on. He looked down on his shoulder, and the black was gone. It was flashes of peaches and reds, oranges and blues, mixing and matching before his eyes. The guy he had ran into finally looked up to look TJ in the eye, and TJ guessed that they both were terrified. TJ started wondering if his soulmate was expecting it be a guy- his soulmate.

_Marty._

Before TJ could tell him anything, the guy ran back into the restroom. TJ knew he had to get his name, his number, the whole hubbub. His mom was right, and he hated it. He heart started to swell, his hands clenching into fists as his fingernails dug into his palms. He had never felt so sweaty or tired in his entire life. Finding your soulmate was exhausting.

TJ took a deep breath and walked back inside the restroom where the other person guy had ripped off his cardigan that was now on the floor. His soulmate was really someone who wore cardigans and not old t-shirts. TJ wanted to be amused, but the pain of telling Marty was starting to kick in. He was right outside. He had no time to think of anything.

“I guess we’ve been Found,” the guy whispered, as he stared into the sink mirror, holding the sleeve of his shirt up above his shoulder. His soul mark was flashing the same colors as TJ at the same time. It was kind of mesmerizing watching them in the mirror at the same time. TJ noticed he really was a lot taller than him which was odd considering Marty was only two inches shorter than him.

_Am I always going to compare him to Marty? Fuck. Dad was right._

“I’m TJ Kippen,” he said, not really knowing what else to tell him. “I have to go do something important right now, but I’ll just give you my number.” TJ didn’t even know if that counted as cheating on Marty. Everything he promised Marty was literally being thrown away in a blink of an eye without thinking twice.

“I’m Cyrus,” he turned to look up at him, flushed in the face. “Goodman.”

“I like your last name,” TJ smiled as he pulled out his phone, “I just might take it.” _TJ, what the fuck are you saying? Get out of here._

“That’s a classic joke,” Cyrus chuckled as he handed TJ his unlocked phone. TJ stole a glance of his face as he inserted his number and gave Cyrus his own phone. He was handsome. Really handsome. The universe had done well.

 _Marty!_ he reminded himself.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think I’d meet you now,” TJ admitted as they traded phones. They looked at the mirror, their soul marks not looking like they were going to give out anytime soon.

“I don’t know what I expected my soulmate to look like,” Cyrus admitted, making eye contact with TJ through the reflection of the mirror.

“Were you expecting a girl?”

Cyrus laughed, “If the universe would’ve sent me a girl, they would’ve been wrong.”

TJ whispered under his breath, breathing I contact. “The universe is never wrong.” He turned around and picked up the cardigan off the floor, handing it back to him. “Let’s not talk until next week, please. There’s something going on right now.” He could get over a heartache in a week, right?

“Monday next week, Sunday next week, or today’s date, Thursday, so Thursday next week?” Cyrus asked, a lot of his words mixing together. TJ smiled. The universe sent him a dork.

“Thursday,” TJ smiled at him before walking out of the restroom he didn’t even get to use. The stuffy air in the hall made it harder to breath, people smiling at they saw the colors on his shoulder. They would stay like that for a whole month- for a whole month that he’d probably cry over Marty.

As if a cinderblock had been attached to each of his feet, TJ took heavy steps to the entrance of the building, knowing that his shoulder was a light show, a light show that wasn’t caused by Marty who he really loved. Marty was waiting outside, the smile on his face instantly dropping as he saw TJ’s shoulder. The tears were already coming up, and TJ wasn’t able to speak anymore because of the knot in his throat.

“You’ve been Found,” Marty whispered. He walked up to TJ slowly, staring at the colors on his shoulder. All TJ could do was nod, squeeze his eyes shut as a tear began to fall. It hurt more than what they could’ve warned. “Hey,” Marty said softly, reaching up to dry his tears. People around them were starting to stare, and if they knew who TJ Kippen from the MSU basketball team was, they knew his situation with Marty. They knew he wasn’t crying tears of joy from the colors on his shoulder. “Don’t cry, please.” TJ didn’t know what else to do, so he simply pulled Marty in for a hug, Marty starting to choke on a held in sob. “Look,” Marty said, barely coherent. “I know we said we’d never walk away from each other, but that would be selfish of me to stay with you, okay? You have to go with him and make him the happiest person ever.”

“You make me the happiest person ever,” TJ murmured into his hair, the hair he’d never be able to run his fingers through again. He took in a deep breath, taking in the scent of coconut shampoo and his favorite cologne for the last time.

“I’m glad that we happened, TJ,” Marty said, struggling to pull away from TJ’s tight grasp. “You made me happy, you know that. But the universe didn’t want us together.” TJ finally let go of Marty and wiped his eyes with the back of his arm. When he looked at Marty again, he had a small smile on his face, cheeks and eyes red as a blush. Marty walked to the side of TJ’s arm, and kissed his soul mark before saying, “Maybe in another life.”

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by this post! http://webarebares.tumblr.com/post/181575016796/bingewatchingenthusiast-lovinmullen


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